Did you know that Mary is in the Old Testament?
Many Catholics don’t know this, but references to Mary can be found throughout the Old Testament - you may even be surprised to hear how early in the story she makes an appearance!
Just like the doctrines of our faith, the different parts of the Bible mirror each other and make more sense in light of one another. The more that you read the Bible - then the more you will notice different parts reference each other. And this grants an even deeper understanding.
The Scripture is like a living person in that way. It's not just a dead text. It's a person revealing himself.
Most people know on some level that Jesus is prophesied in the Bible, but did you know that Mary is referenced in the Old Testament as well? She is!
It makes sense when you think about it.
The Scriptures are an account of God's plan of salvation for humankind, and Mary is a big part of that (to put it mildly). Just as the Scriptures prophesied and prepared God's people for the Messiah, they also prepared us to see Mary's role in God's plan.
The Bible can be intimidating.
It's a big book. It's several books. It was written a long time ago during different ancient time periods. It's from a culture different than our own. It can be challenging to understand.
One way that can help us approach the Bible is through different (Church-approved) perspectives which we can use to help understand and interpret the Holy Scriptures.
One of these is the concept of typology. You've probably heard about it, but in case you haven't, here's the basic idea: typology is the study of different types of foreshadowing in the Scripture.
When a person, place, or thing foreshadows something else, we call this a Biblical type. (It usually refers to something in the Old Testament prefiguring something or someone in the New Testament).
For example, Noah's Flood can be seen as a type of Baptism. Baptism is a sacrament given to us by Christ that conveys grace, washes away our sins, and gives us new life.
The Flood in the Bible washed away all of the effects of sin on the earth and afterward, God started anew with Noah and his family, telling Noah to be fruitful and multiply just as he had given the same command to Adam and Eve earlier. (This is one of the reasons why the Flood is mentioned in the Church's baptismal rite by the way).
Through the study of typology, we can see that there were different types of Mary in the Old Testament. Studying these can give us a greater devotion to Our Lady, and they can also help us understand the Scriptures and Our Faith even more.
The first and most obvious type of Mary in the Old Testament is Eve. In fact, the Church often refers to Mary as the New Eve. And we can understand Our Blessed Mother even more through Eve’s failings. By understanding what Eve was created for and meant to be we can understand all that Our Lady actually is.
Wait, how is Eve a type of Mary if she sinned? Didn’t Mary do the opposite?
That’s just it. Eve is a “type” of Mary because her sinful actions serve as a mirror to Mary’s perfect actions.
Remember that “type” doesn’t mean type in the usual, dictionary definition of a term. A Biblical type isn't always the same thing as saying “a kind of _____ .” Although it can mean that, a Biblical type is a more encompassing term that also includes the idea of a forerunner.
So, a Biblical type can be a kind of person or thing that is later perfected in the New Testament (Flood → Baptism), but it can also be a person or thing that sets the stage for what will happen later in the New Testament by being or doing the exact opposite.
(An example of this would be Lamech’s thirst for vengeance in Genesis and Jesus’ words to the disciples about how often we should forgive one another).
Eve is a mirror of Our Lady’s perfection
Eve is disobedient and Mary is completely obedient to the will of God. Mary gives her Fiat at the Annunciation which makes salvation possible for us all.
Eve is seduced by a (fallen) angel and Mary responds to the news from the archangel Gabriel with complete faith and trust, even though she could not have understood at the time how God would accomplish what was being proclaimed to her at the Annunciation.
He became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience which proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death. But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy, when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her. (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho)
Through Eve sin and death entered the world. But through Mary, life through her son entered the world along with the chance to be restored in our relationship with God.
“Because of one woman, the deadly door opened; And life returned, because of one woman.” - Caelius Sedulius.
Genesis 3:15
This connection between Eve and Mary is so strong that it’s even made clear right in the text of Genesis itself. Read Genesis 3:15 below in both the New American Bible and the Douay-Rheims:
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
They will strike at your head,
while you strike at their heel. (NAB, link here)
I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. (Douay-Rheims, link here)
After God discovers that the serpent has seduced Adam and Eve into the first sin, he curses the serpent, saying that he will put enmity between the serpent and the woman and her offspring. God is telling Satan that he will be opposed by the woman and her offspring, who will ultimately defeat him.
The Church has always understood and believed that this passage is referring to Jesus and Mary. That one day there will be a woman who, through her offspring, will crush Satan and death.
(Translations differ as to who is said to "strike” or "crush” the head of the serpent. Some translations refer to "they” as in Mary and Jesus, some say "he” to refer to Our Lord, and the traditional Douay-Rheims says "she” to refer to Our Lady.
There are multiple versions of this text because the early Church Fathers translated it differently. Any of these translations would be considered correct and represent the same idea, that through Mary's Fiat, her offspring conquered death).
This is why the Church calls Genesis 3:15 the Protoevangelium, because it is, in a sense, the "first Gospel.” The Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ, that he has saved us from death. And even here in the very beginning of Scripture - right at the precise moment as the first sin - God is promising us good news: that he will save us!
And Mary is predicted here in this verse as well, as we can now see. (And if you've ever wondered why Mary is crushing a snake in many statues and images - now you know).
When you realize that Our Blessed Mother was foretold from the very beginning of time, it gives you a sense of just how important she is. Mary isn't just someone who played an important role and was then forgotten (even though that would be special in itself).
Instead, she has been an integral part of God's plan from the very beginning. And why wouldn't she be? After all, she is the Mother of God and is very dear to God's heart. And as we know from meditating on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, Our Lady's will is synonymous with Our Lord's will.
This makes it all the more reason why we should pray to Mary and strengthen our devotion to her.
Most have heard Mary referred to as the New Eve and many have even heard of Genesis 3:15 as the Protoevangelium, but next week in part 2 you'll read about other ways that Mary is prefigured in the Old Testament!
(Check out part 2 here and part 3 here and part 4 here)
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